


Cat

by SB_Ryan



Series: Recipe for Chaos [3]
Category: Star Wars - All Media Types, Star Wars Legends: X-wing Series - Aaron Allston & Michael Stackpole
Genre: F/M, Fluff, Gen, Pets, Post-mission downtime, Wraith Squadron - Freeform
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2015-05-20
Updated: 2015-05-20
Packaged: 2018-03-31 09:47:52
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 2
Words: 3,013
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/3973501
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/SB_Ryan/pseuds/SB_Ryan
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Ton finds out Rina has always wanted a pet. He decides to see what he can do.<br/>Shenanigans ensue as always.</p>
            </blockquote>





	1. Wanna see my bug?

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Following the mission to Storinal, Ton has something in his quarters that he wants to show Rina.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> This occurs the day the group returns from the Storinal mission; so partial spoilers for the Storinal chapter of Diplomat's Daughter.

Rina was glad to be home. She sank down into one of the stern lounge chairs and shut her eyes. The redhead hoped everyone would be too busy at their mission debriefing or whatever to come to the break room too soon.

She felt a twinge of guilt for leaving her team to look after things for a little longer, but only a little one.

She jumped when she felt a warm hand on her knee, "Stars above Phanan! Are you trying to give me a heart attack?" She narrowed her grey eyes at him, silently daring him him to say something sarcastic.

The pilot grinned from where he was crouched in front of her. "Well wifey, I thought you'd like to know that in a few minutes everyone will be piling in here."

"Fake wife!" Rina growled, referring to the false identities the Wraiths and she had assumed to sneak onto the planet of Storinal.

Ton wiped away a faux tear and clasped his chest in a parody of extreme emotional distress, "You want a divorce? What about the children?"

Rina blushed and stuttered.

Phanan took pity on her and whispered, "Also that Bastra boy said something about spooning you that I just couldn't believe! I thought you saved that for me." He winked and sat back on his heels.

She groaned and stood up, nudging Phanan's shoulder with her hip, 'accidentally' knocking him back onto his rear, "Didn't your parents teach you to share your toys?" She said tiredly, nerves still on edge from the shuttle ride back to the Night Caller.

Being shot at by angry Imps was not something she wanted to go through again any time soon.

Ton scrambled up with as much dignity as he could muster, "Hambly?"

She paused mid-flounce. He looked uncharacteristically nervous and rubbed a hand through his hair, ruining its habitual neatness. "Did you want to come by my quarters before you carry on being mad at me? I uh picked something up on the mission and I wondered if you wanted to see it."

Rina smiled a little. Those flyboys were all after one thing - admittedly the were seldom interested in her, or even aware she was there.

"Oh Riiinaaaa!" Bastra's voice sang out from the far corridor.

"Okay, you win Mr Medic. Let's go see your souvenir." Rina grabbed Phanan's sleeve and practically ran out of the lounge.

\---

As Ton fussed with a covered box, Rina perched on the edge of his bunk, uncomfortably aware of the situation and how much of a big step this was for her.

A part of her, the mentor voice, was shouting at her for being ridiculous and to make excuses to leave. Rina quashed the urge to run; mainly because she was tired and Jayce Bastra would doubtlessly be waiting for her outside her room with the wooden spoon she'd put him in charge of.

"Right!" Ton turned to face Rina, "Close your eyes and hold out your hands." At her look he held up a placating hand; the other still behind his back. "I promise nothing inappropriate will be done unless you ask me nicely."

Rina fought the smile that threatened, it wouldn't do to encourage him.

She obediently held out her hands, palm up. Something feather light was placed onto her palm, she felt it move and her eyes flew open. She squealed as she came face to face with a large, crystalline insect.

Ton began to laugh until she spoke, "It's so cute!"

Ton sat beside her, "So that wasn't the reaction I was expecting..."

Rina let the little creature wander over her hand and wiggled her fingers at it, giggling as it waved its own mantis like forelimbs back at her. "Where did you get him?" Rina asked, clearly besotted with the beautiful critter.

The pilot smiled wryly, leaned in and said in a low voice, "From the mission where I was fortunate enough to meet your friend Princess Stabby."

"Tracer didn't mean it. She's just a bit rough around the edges and-" she trailed off as Ton held out his hand and the bug wandered onto the larger platform. "How is your leg anyway?"

"A bit stiff." He avoided looking directly at her as he gently put the insect back in its cage.

"I always wanted a pet when I was little." Rina said, watching the animal with a wistful look, "We just never stayed in one place long enough to put down roots and I would drive my father mad by bringing home strays constantly."

Ton promptly squirrelled that nugget of information away, this was the first time she'd told him something about her past without being a little bit tipsy.

A small part of him felt pretty smug; usually of was Face who found out the bits of their girl's past during their sessions.

"Tell you what; when I'm off on missions, could you look after him for me?"

"Really?"

"Sure." Ton smiled crookedly, "I was going to ask Face; but he'd probably kill it and being my wingman he'd most likely be coming along too."

Whatever reaction he expected; it wasn't what happened next. Rina threw herself at him and hugged him; hard. "Thank you, thank you, thank you!" She was practically delirious with excitement. Still refusing to relinquish her grip, Rina asked, "Can I name him?"

"Absolutely not." Ton chuckled, "You're rubbish at naming things."

Rina decided to let that one slide; for now. She was feeling comfortable for the moment. despite Phanan's slender ' _bony_ ' physique; he was a surprisingly good cuddler. If she hadn't been quite so tired, she would have been worrying about the indecorous way she was practically draped across his lap.

Phanan rested his cheek on the top of her head, surreptitiously enjoying the scent of vanilla and some sort of fruit that he associated with the cosy armful of girl currently attached to him.

She murmured something in a sleepy voice that sounded suspiciously like, "Best pretend husband ever." before her breathing slowed and she fell asleep.

As he slowly lost the feeling in his good arm, Ton found himself breaking his own rule by thinking about what had happened between them in the Storinal hotel room. If he was honest; nothing actually completely happened.

They'd gotten a little tiddly on the minibar offerings and talked for the entire time Kell and Tyria were escorting Stabby McShiv (he refused to acknowledge the slicer who stuck him in the leg with a bone spike by name; it made it far too real) to Wedge's group across town.

Somehow they'd ended up in a similar position then too.

She'd been upset about some family thing and being almost a decade older than her, he'd tried his best to be comforting. Face had been nagging him for weeks to try being nice.

Regardless, she'd looked at him with those damn kicked puppy dog eyes and he wasn't entirely sure that he wouldn't have kissed her if their teammates hadn't conveniently returned.

Ton yawned and pulled his blanket over Rina's legs. As he debated having a nap as well a sudden thought lanced through his mind, ' _Would it have been so bad?_ '

\---

Fifteen minutes later, Face knocked on his wingman's door; wanting to talk to him about the germ of an idea he had to find out who the prankster plaguing the squadron was.

He pursed his lips thoughtfully when there wasn't an answer. Shrugging, he tapped in Ton's code and walked in; they were quite comfortable practically living in each other's pockets anyway.

Face stopped dead on his tracks when he saw the perpetually anxious cook sleeping peacefully in the arms of his friend.

More surprising was the small smile on his sarcastically acerbic wingman's lips.

Not one to ever miss an opportunity; Face snapped a few photos for blackmail purposes and slipped out; leaving the pair to it.


	2. What's in the box?

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Chapter is set sometime after the Wraiths start their pirate infiltration scheme. 
> 
> Turned out in a bit of an unexpected direction. Angsty kids are angsty.

Rina Hambly was starting to wonder if she was slowly going mad.

They had only been setting up base in an abandoned asteroid mining facility for a short time and already she was tempted to slip sedatives into their caf.

Most of the Wraiths were throwing themselves into the roles of the pirate group, the Hawk-bat Independent Space Force, very enthusiastically. None more so than Face and Ton.

She never knew when they'd pop up with some roguish costume on; or attempt to get her to join in. She had much more important things to be worried about. Things like how they were supposed to get in enough supplies from the Imperial-controlled planet Halmad below without giving away their position, or how to get rid of the vermin that had colonised the abandoned mining facility.

"Stop fussing girl, enjoy your lunch break!" Rina told herself sternly as she knocked on her door; not wanting to risk repeating the time she had walked in on her roommate Amaya and one of the mechanics 'entertaining' themselves.

When there was no answer, Rina breathed a sigh of relief and went in. Whilst she was much, much better mentally than when she'd been swept up with Squeaky and the Wraiths; she missed those moments of being alone.

When there was a sharp knock on the door, Rina called whoever it was a very unladylike name and reluctantly opened the door.

She blinked in surprise, "Hello?" She had been expecting one of Amaya's beaus, or perhaps young Jayce; but not one of the Wraiths. Ton stood by the door, with a large box in his arms.

"Can I come in? This is rather heavy."

Rina wordlessly stepped back into the room, watching him curiously.

Things had been strained between them since Borleias and she'd ruined things by kissing him.

The pilot set the box down with a sigh of relief and turned to face her. Rina blushed and looked away, wishing he'd just leave; but selfishly wanting him to stay close too. They stood there in awkward silence for a while, neither willing or able to put up a front for the moment.

"Dr Phanan."

Ton winced at the formality in her voice. He knew he hadn't handled things particularly well. He had just as many issues with trust as she did; but he had a good decade of rejection and cynicism on her. "Rina; I want-" before he could finish, Rina walked past him to sat and at the table.

"Phanan, why is the box moving?" She narrowed her eyes at the most enthusiastic of the pretend pirates. "What the hell have you done this time?"

The pilot shifted uncomfortably, ' _Perhaps I should have checked with her first? Oh shit; what if she hates it? I should have checked with Face. Force I'm an idiot.'_ "Um, I thought. I was trying to- I mean I-" Phanan trailed off miserably, trying and failing to tell her what he was trying to accomplish.

Rina ignored his babbling and gingerly opened the lid of the box; knowing full well that she should know better than to trust there was nothing too unpleasant inside.

Ton folded his arms protectively in front of him, knowing there was no retreat now. He contemplated just running, but he wasn't a coward. _'Not a man, not a machine, too dumb to run away. Why isn't she saying anything?!'_

The redheaded cook had gone completely still. She stared down into the box for what seem like an eternity to the pilot. He wanted to step around the small table so he could see her face and hopefully see that she wasn't upset.

"I'm sorry Rina I just thought-"

"Shut up Phanan." Rina said gently, before reaching into the box. She picked up what had been inside and held the little ball of fluffy fur to her chest. "Where did you get him?"

Ton let out an audible sigh of relief. "Well you know that mission when me and Castin and Kell looted all of those recreational holos?"

Rina nodded, still facing away.

"Well on my last trip to load my ship with the loot, I literally tripped over the scruffy fluffball." He chuckled, "I remembered what you said about always having wanted a pet and there's the whole memo about trying to get rid of whatever is nibbling on the supplies and thought of you." He hovered uncertainly, he hated feeling like this. He liked her. A lot. He just knew that she deserved someone who hasn't had over twenty percent of themselves replaced by cybernetics. Someone whole and closer to her own age. Someone who wasn't quite so bitter and cynical. Should he go over there? Should he leave?

"This would be so much easier if I could see your face you know." He said with forced lightness.

Rina shook her head, ponytail whipping back and forth. She choked back a noise that sounded suspiciously like a sob.

Ton stepped up beside her and touched her shoulder, "Rina?" She reluctantly turned to face him, Ton swore when he saw the tears. "I'm sorry. Please don't-"

Rina managed a watery smile and held up the small gurr cat, it had brown stripy fur on most of its body, except for one paw which was a solid brown and a patch of white over one side of its face.

Ton looked down at the kitten's mismatched eyes that glared up at him.

"I think he's mad at you for putting him in the box." Rina whispered, scratching behind the feline's ears, eliciting a loud rumbling purr. She transferred the cub to the crook of one arm and closed the distance between herself and Ton. "I can't believe you remembered."

As she gave him a quick hug, Ton relaxed a fraction. It seemed like this, whatever it was, was salvageable. "What are you going to call him?"

Rina shrugged and turned away to let the tusked feline explore his new home. She sat on the small sofa that had been 'acquired' in a similar way to most other things on the base. The boys were certainly taking to their duties of stealing everything the Imps hadn't nailed down seriously. "Stars above Ton; just sit down. You're looming again."

Ton obediently claimed the opposite end of the over-stuffed sofa.

"Hi. I'm Rina. Shall we start over?"

Ton looked at her in confusion, "Have you been at the cooking liquor again?"

Rina held out her hand for him to shake, "I just want to go back to how things were and not feel so awkward."

Ton took the small digits in his own, "I thought awkwardness was your stock in trade." His grin was swiftly erased when the kitten dug its claws into his leg, using it as a ladder to get up onto the sofa. Rina tried unsuccessfully to disguise her laugh as a cough.

"Minx."

"Cat toy."

"Ginger."

She pouted and shoved him, "It's red!"

"She doth protest too much methinks!"

"Oh shut it you wee pain."

"Well do the curtains match the-" Ton doubled over when Rina elbowed him, blushing beet red. "You're a terrible man."

"That's why you love me." He wheezed, joking.

"Aye."

"Huh?"

"You heard."

"Rina."

"Just go. I'm sorry. I know you don't feel the same." Rina shut her eyes, ' _stupid stupid stupid. You and you big mouth Rina._ '

A hand on her cheek startled her; Ton had scooched along the sofa and was sitting beside her. "Stop apologising wench." The twinkle in his eye and his tone took the sting out of his words. "Are you a Jedi?"

"Don't be daft. You know what I am."

"So if you're not in fact a jedi, then how do you know what I'm thinking?"

Rina opened her mouth, but shut it when she couldn't think of anything witty to come back with.

"Exactly my point." The pilot said smugly. His expression sobered and his thumb started to stroke her soft skin.

Rina congratulated herself on resisting the urge to lean in to the touch.

"I do like you Rina. You're a fighter, even if you don't admit it. You've grown so much since I met you." His hand slipped away to uncurl her fingers, tracing the faint scar the ran across the base of all four fingers of her left hand.

She had been too impatient to leave the dressing on for the full time and got the scar as a result. "You deserve someone who will look after you. I can't be that person."

He looked away as he brought his free hand up to the prosthetic shell on his face, "I'm hardly a man at all if you think about it." He forced a smile and flicked a finger at the tip of her freckled nose. "Besides I am far too old for a youngster like you. That's not to say I didn't enjoy having a pretty girl visit me. All the other squaddies were green with envy!"

Rina tried to tug her hand free without much success, "That's only because I brought you real food."

"It was because apart from me; you were the cutest thing on the ward." Ton smiled and kissed Rina's forehead. "I'm glad you like him."

Rina growled when her commlink beeped, "I have to go. It seems that Jayce has managed to set the soup on fire." She threw prudence to the wind and kissed Ton on the cheek where flesh met metal, "I always had a thing for the smart ones." She ruffled his hair, "Do you know where I can find one?"

As he spluttered with mock outrage, she stroked the cat one last time before leaving to seek and destroy the kitchen porter who seemed to be able to burn anything; even water.

Ton touched the spot where she had kissed him. She hadn't hesitated, or made a big deal out of it. Maybe he should do some more research before committing to anything. The cat climbed onto his lap and he petted it absently; lost in thought.

Lost in thought that was until the wretched creature sank its tiny teeth into his hand.


End file.
